The Love of the Magic Knights
by arashi099
Summary: Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu return to Cephiro for a visit. But who is attacking Cephiro? And will Hikaru ever be able to understand and accept her feelings? *Complete* Please Read and Review!!
1. Reunion

**The Love of the Magic Knights**

Disclaimer:  I do not and never will own Magic Knight Rayearth in any way.  All credit goes to the awesome anime group Clamp.  

This is completely based on the manga version of the story.  It takes place right after Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu's junior year in high school.  

Enjoy!!  And Please, Please, Please Read and Review!!

**Chapter 1: ****Reunion******

***Ring***

Happy voices could be heard throughout the school as the final bell rang releasing them to summer after a strenuous school year.  

Hikaru said bye to her friends before she hurried home.  She was excited summer had finally arrived.  She was looking forward to being able to return to Cephiro.  It had been over a few months since she could take time away to visit her friends there.  And even then she could only stay for a few hours.  It would be nice to actually be able to stay the entire summer.      

She looked up to see Tokyo Tower dimly in the distance.  _That place brings back so many memories._

"Tadaima!" she called out as she entered the shrine her family headed.  

"Okaeri," Satoru, her oldest brother answered.   

"Are Kakeru and Masaru home yet?" Hikaru asked about her other two brothers.

"They've already come back from their classes, but I think they went to the store to buy some things for dinner," he replied.  "When were you planning to visit your friends?"  
  


"I was going to leave after dinner if that's still okay," Hikaru said.  

  
"It'll be quiet this summer without you, but I do hope you have fun with your friends," Satoru kindly said.  "Well, I better go get ready for the kendo lessons.  Since Otousan and Okaasan left yesterday for their vacation, I have to lead them." 

"Tadaima!"

"Well, it sounds like Masaru and Kakeru have returned," Satoru said. 

"Hey Hikaru!  It's your turn to cook tonight since you'll be gone all summer," Masaru told her.  

"We'll help you though if you want," Kakeru offered.

"Okay!" Hikaru smiled.

*3 hours later*

"Do you have everything?" Satoru asked as they approached the train leading to the center of Tokyo.

"Yes, I'll only be gone for a couple of months," Hikaru said.  "I won't be needing that much."

"Where exactly are you going to be again?" Masaru asked.

"I'm going to stay for a while at my friend Umi's house, and then we're going to go stay at Fuu's house," Hikaru said.  She felt bad about lying to them, but she still wasn't ready to tell them about Cephiro.  

"Well, make sure you contact us every once in a while so we know you're okay," Masaru said.

"And be careful," Kakeru added.

Hikaru smiled.  She loved her brothers.  "I will!" she said as the train doors opened and she stepped in.  "See you in a few months!"

"Bye Hikaru!" her brothers yelled as the door closed.  She waved her byes to them smiling and then quickly found a seat.  _I really am going to miss them this summer, but I'm way too excited to be sad.  I'm so glad I will be able to  see everyone again.  Her eyes watered as she thought about what had first brought her to Cephiro.  __It's been so long since that horrible battle with Zagato and Emeraude-hime.  It almost seems unreal somehow, like a bad dream.  She closed her eyes as images of the past began to rush back to her.  __And then we were called back by Mokona to a still crumbling world – to help find a new pillar.  But we ended up destroying the pillar system itself.  Since then, everything's been so peaceful there.  It truly has become a beautiful place.  _

Before long, the train stopped at the central terminal in Tokyo.  Hikaru quickly got off and headed toward Tokyo Tower.  She had to hurry since the tower would be closing to visitors in less than an hour.  She grew more excited with each step and could barely contain her excitement by the time she actually reached her destination.  Quickly finding an open elevator, Hikaru traveled up to the top viewing platform and began looking for Fuu and Umi.

"Hikaru! Over here!" Someone called out.  She turned to find her two friends hurrying toward her, excitement also written all over their faces.  

"Hello Umi-chan, Fuu-chan!" Hikaru said as they met up with each other.

"Are you ready?" Fuu asked.

"Yup! Let's go!"  With that, they joined hands and closed their eyes.  Soon, a sharp, bright light enveloped them, sending them through the road connecting the two worlds, and they quickly found themselves in Cephiro's castle.  

"You're here!" 

The girls turned to see Ferio and Clef walking toward them.  Fuu's eyes immediately shone brighter as she saw Ferio.

"We've been expecting you," Clef said.

"We all just got out of school today," Umi told him.  "We've been looking forward to coming back again."

"And you will be staying much longer than normal this time, right?" Ferio asked looking at Fuu.  

"Yes, we will," Fuu replied.  

"It's summer vacation," Hikaru said.  "So we can stay for a couple of months!"

"That sounds nice," a voice said from behind them.

"Lantis!" Hikaru said as she looked toward the voice.  He smiled.  Primera, sitting ever-present on his shoulder, glared at Hikaru.  She sweatdropped.  

"Puu! Puu!" A small white furry creature suddenly bounced into the room and into Hikaru's open arms.  

"Mokona!  I've missed you!" Hikaru said hugging it tightly.

"Hi everyone," Ascot said shyly, suddenly appearing out of another room. 

"Ascot! Hello!" Umi said happily.  Ascot blushed and looked down as she looked at him.  

"How's Eagle?" Hikaru asked.

"He's almost fully recovered," Lantis began.  "He'll be up and back to normal very soon."

"Let's go see the others," Clef suggested.  "Everyone's been waiting for you."

They entered a larger room, where Presea, Lafarga, and Caldina were waiting.  Squeals of excitement could be heard from Caldina as she rushed over to them hugging each while Presea and Lafarga followed more slowly, smiles spreading across their faces.  

"How have you all been?" Presea asked.

"Fine!" Hikaru said. "I finally remembered to bring you some more gum from Earth!"

"You mean that candy that you gave to me when we first met?" Presea asked, her eyes glowing.  She had loved the stuff.

"Yup!" Hikaru said giving her a whole package.  Presea hugged her tightly in thanks. 

Suddenly, the ground shook a little.  Hikaru, Fuu, and Umi looked around in surprise.  

"What was that?" Umi asked.  

"This is great," Ferio muttered sarcastically.  Fuu looked at him confused.  He looked away.  

Geo and Zazu who had been watching over Eagle, suddenly came into the room.  They stopped short when they realized Hikaru, Fuu, and Umi were there.

"Uh…" Geo started, unsure of whether to go on in front of the three girls.  

"We know," Clef quickly stated.  

Once again, the ground shook, but even more strongly, knocking Hikaru off balance.  Lantis quickly caught her and helped her stand up straight.  

"I'll go take care of this," he said, beginning to head out of the room.  Hikaru, and the other two girls watched him walk away, completely confused.  

"I'll go help him," Geo told them. "Zazu, come with me."

"I guess I should go as well," Lafarga said following them out of the room.

*hikaru* _What__ is going on? I thought everything had been settled before.  Lantis…what is he going to go 'take care of?' I hope he'll be okay – and everyone else too.  _

"What is going on?" Umi demanded, trying to read the expressions on everyone's faces. 

"It's not something you should worry about," Clef replied.  The girls, however, continued to look worried.

*clef* _It was not supposed to happen like this.  I will not let them fight again here.  They've suffered too much because of us.  Why couldn't those people leave us alone for a while?_

"Please tell us," Fuu said.  "We'd like to help if we can."

"No…please forget about it," Presea said.  "It's not really such a big deal."

As she said that, though, the ground shook again.  Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu exchanged glances.  

"Please, please tell us what's happening," Hikaru pleaded.  "We want to help you."

Clef looked down.  It seemed he had no choice.

End of Chapter 1

As you might have noticed, this is supposed to be a romance/action/adventure.  Sorry, but there isn't much of any of that yet.  But it's coming!  I promise!

Here are some translations for some of the Japanese I used.

Tadaima: I'm home.

Okaeri: Welcome back.

Hime: princess


	2. A New Enemy

**The Love of the Magic Knights**

**Chapter 2: A New Enemy**

"Recently, another country called Netami, just a little further than Fahren, was completely destroyed by a freak storm," Clef began to explain.  "Here in Cephiro, even though the pillar system was eliminated thanks to you, the strength of our will becomes our power.  So it's easy for us to avoid any disasters like what occurred in that country. 

Although most of the population was killed in the storm, there were a significant number of people that were able to escape in a few of their ships."  

"How sad…" Hikaru said, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Until the storm, the people of Netami kind of just kept to themselves," Ferio continued.  "We really didn't communicate at all with them.  But now that their home has been destroyed, they've been forced to look for somewhere to stay.  They heard about Cephiro and how beautiful and peaceful it has become.  So they thought they could come here and make a new start. But since they have shut themselves off so much, they've learned to depend upon themselves and their own government only."

"And that's the problem," Clef said.  "They refuse to become a part of us and live under our authority.  They want to completely take over, and send the people of Cephiro to live somewhere else.  They want to make a completely new Netami here, with nothing to do with us.  And we can't allow that.  So recently they've been attacking us and we've had to put up a barrier around Cephiro to try to hold them off a little.  Technologically, they are superior like Autozam, but they have not yet been able to penetrate the barrier.  It's their attacks on the barrier that are causing the ground to shake."  

Ferio looked at the shocked girls.  "So since they refuse to come here peacefully, we've had to fight them to protect the people here in Cephiro and ourselves.  It's unlucky that this all had to be happening when you three have come to visit.  We don't want you to get involved in this."

"This is so horrible," Fuu muttered. 

"Yeah…" Umi agreed.  "I can't believe this…"

"Please, try not to worry about it.  With them attacking, we really had no choice but to tell you, but, like we said, we don't want you to get involved." Presea said, looking sadly at the three knights who had helped them so much in the past already.  

"That's right," Lafarga agreed.  

"You shouldn't have to worry about this world that's not your own," Lantis added.

"You're back! Are you okay?" Hikaru asked looking worriedly at Lafarga and Lantis.  "Where's Geo and Zazu?  Are they okay?"

"They're fine.  They went to go talk to Eagle," Lafarga replied.  

Lantis looked at her and frowned.  _I don't like seeing her so worried.  When she comes, she always makes everyone happy and certainly always makes me smile.  She's been through too much, suffered too much already.  I can't believe this is happening.  I want her to be happy._

"So, how was it?" Clef asked.

Lafarga sighed.  "Their attacks are getting stronger.  I don't know how much longer we can hold them off."

"I will help you," Hikaru said quietly.  The others looked up at her, not too surprised she would offer her help.

"We told you already, we don't want you to get involved," Presea said kindly.  "This isn't your responsibility."

"You've been through too much for this world already," Ferio said.

"You're right," Umi began. "We have been through a lot here."  

"But it's because we've been through so much that we've come to love this world so much," Fuu added.

"We kind of like to think that Cephiro is just as much our world as the Earth is.  We want to help protect it," Hikaru said.  "Please let us help you."  The three girls exchanged glances.  They were in total agreement.  "We want to help you."

"We weren't able to stop you before, the second time you were called here.  And it seems we won't be able to stop you now either." Clef sighed.  "What stubborn magic knights…" he mumbled. 

Presea suddenly materialized three beautiful and familiar weapons for the three girls.  "These belong to you."

"I doubt that we'll be attacked again today, so try to forget about everything tonight and get some sleep." Ferio said.  

"Yes, it is getting late," Clef agreed.  "It was nice seeing you girls again.  I just wish our visit could have been happier today.  But, now we should be getting some sleep." With that, he turned and left the room.  

"Do you remember where your room is?" Presea asked.

"Yes," Fuu replied.  

"Well then, goodnight," Presea said before also leaving.  Lafarga and Caldina followed after calling out their goodnights as well.

"Hey Fuu." Ferio said.  "Could I talk to you?"

"Yes, of course," she replied. 

"I'm going to go see Eagle," Hikaru said. 

"I'll go with you," Lantis told her.  She looked up at him surprised.  She suddenly stopped as she looked in his eyes.  _His eyes are so beautiful and mysterious.  It's hard to tell what he's thinking.  I feel so strange when I look at him though.  What is this feeling…I've kind of felt it before when I was here before with him, but…I don't know. _

"Um…okay," she said, blushing slightly as she realized she had been staring at him.  She grimaced when she saw Primera hovering by his side glaring at her again.  She quickly looked away.  They silently walked out of the room together.

"I'll walk you to your room, Umi," Ascot offered shyly. 

"Yes, we must leave those two lovebirds alone," she grinned looking at Ferio and Fuu who both immediately turned bright red. 

Ascot smiled, but blushed even more than either Ferio or Fuu when Umi grabbed his hand and led them out of the room.

"Is she ever going to stop teasing us?" Ferio asked after he and Fuu had been left alone.  "I mean, she's been teasing us non-stop since I told you I loved you a couple years ago."  
  


Fuu smiled at the memory.  "She's been teasing me ever since I met you," she said.  "I don't think she'll ever quit until she finds someone else to torture."

Ferio grinned.  "So when do you think her and Ascot will tell each other how they feel?"

"Hopefully pretty soon.  It's getting way too obvious."  

"Well, anyway, I just wanted to be alone for a while.  Ever since you've gotten here, everyone's been all over you and the others." Ferio said.  "I've missed you a lot."

Fuu blushed.  "I've missed you too," she admitted.

"I was hoping you did," he said as he put his arms around her and pulled her close.  "Can I have a goodnight kiss?" 

"Of course…" she replied, just before their lips met.

Meanwhile…

"So…Umi…do you have a boyfriend yet…on the Earth?" Ascot stuttered.

She looked up at him surprised.  "No…why do you always ask that?"

He blushed.  "Umm…no reason…I just thought you might."

"Why?"  _Could he possibly like me?_

"Uh…" he began as he blushed even more.  "Because I…"

"Because you what?" Umi prompted.

He looked at her.  "Nevermind," he mumbled.

"No, wait…please tell me what you were going to say." Umi asked him.

*ascot* _I can't tell her how I feel.  I'm sure she'd just laugh or something.  Why does she keep looking at me like that?  _

"Please…" 

*umi* _It would be so great if he liked me.  I've liked him for such a long time.  I could never forget about him on the Earth. That's why I never paid much attention to any of the guys around me.  All I could think about was him._

"Uh…I'd rather not…not now," Ascot said.

*umi* _Should__ I tell him? But I would be so embarrassed if he didn't feel the same.  But for some reason, I really thought that he might be trying to tell me his feelings just now._

_Maybe I should…_

"Well, uh…here's your room…so I guess…" Ascot said, finding it hard to say anything at all with her so close.  He turned to leave.

"Umm…Ascot?" Umi said slowly.  He stopped and looked back at her. 

"Umm…How…How do you feel about me?" she asked. 

"What!?" Ascot stared at her shocked.  

"Because…uh…I…I really like being with you…and…when I'm gone I really miss you…" she said

*ascot* _Am I dreaming or is she really saying this?_

"And I guess what I'm trying to say is…I really like you." Umi blurted out. 

Ascot just remained standing there, staring.  He couldn't believe his ears.  The girl that he felt so strongly for was telling him the things he had longed to hear.  

"Are you…are you serious?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"Yeah…I am."

"Wow…I never thought you would feel that way," he said.  She looked down.  "But to tell you truth, I always wished you would."  She looked up at him hopefully.  Her confession had given him all the courage he needed.

"Umi…I've liked you since you first talked me out of my allegiance with Zagato.  I deeply respected you then, and as I've gotten to know you more, I've only gotten to like you more and more.  I was just too afraid to tell you."

She smiled.  _He does feel the same for me. _

"Thank you for telling me how you feel," he said shyly.  "Can I…kiss you?" he asked hesitantly.

"I wish you would," Umi responded.  He blushed, but slowly moved in and they kissed.

At the same time…

"You're up!" Hikaru said surprised as she walked into Eagle's room.  "I'm so glad!"

"I've had a long time to recover my energy," Eagle said looking up as Hikaru and Lantis entered the room.  "All because of you, Hikaru."

"It wasn't just because of me," Hikaru said humbly.  "Everyone helped."  

Eagle just smiled at her.  _She's too perfect.  She would never take sole credit for saving me and this world.  _

"So, how have you been?" he asked.

"Good!  Umi, Fuu, and I will be here for the next couple of months to visit everyone," she informed. 

"So you know about what's going on here then?" he asked.

"Yes, I do," she looked down sadly.

"And I see you've gotten your weapon and armor back," Eagle noticed.  "So you're planning to fight?"

"Yes," she replied.  He sighed.  _For once, I wish she didn't have to.  However, I do respect her and love her even more because of her decision.  _

"Look, it's getting kind of late…" Lantis began.  Hikaru looked up.

*hikaru* _This__ feeling…what is it?  I love everyone here on Cephiro, but for some reason, the way I feel for Eagle and everyone else here is different than the way I feel for Lantis.  But I've never felt it this much before.  I don't understand it…_

"Uh…yeah…I'm getting kind of tired." Hikaru said.  "Goodnight Eagle. Goodnight Lantis," she said, then quickly left the room.

Eagle and Lantis watched her as she left.  

"You like her a lot don't you," Eagle asked Lantis.  

"What?" he said turning back toward Eagle.

"Hikaru…you love her.  Am I right?" 

Lantis looked away and began walking out of the room.  "I'll see you tomorrow," he said. 

Eagle smiled.

*the next day*

Hikaru woke up unusually early, looking to see Umi and Fuu still sleeping beside her.  She smiled.  They were both wearing small smiles in their sleep.  _I wonder what they're dreaming about._

She got up and dressed as quietly as she could so as not to disturb them.  She silently left the room and made her way out of the castle and into the bright morning.  Thoughts of the day before, about what she had been told about the attacking country, filled her mind.  

_It's so sad that such a disaster had to happen to those people.  And even though I want to protect Cephiro and its people from them, I really feel bad about all of it.  I don't really want to fight them.  If only there were some way to convince them to live among the people of Cephiro instead of on there own.  _

"You're up early," a voice suddenly broke into her thoughts. Hikaru looked up to see Lantis next to her.  He was looking straight into her eyes.  _They look sad today._

"Good morning Lantis," she said quietly.  

"Good morning.  Did you sleep well?"

"Uh…yeah..." she replied.  He knew she was lying and just as he was about to say something about it, the ground shook as the barrier was attacked.

"Not again…" Lantis said starting to head off.

"I'll go with you," Hikaru said following him.  Lantis looked up at her worried.  "You shouldn't go and fight on your own," she continued.  He sighed.  "Fine."

"Spirit Animal Summoning!" he called out and suddenly a beautiful black horse materialized before him. He held out a hand to Hikaru after he had gotten on.  She took it hesitantly, that new strange feeling coming strongly back to her as their hands touched, and he pulled her up in front of him.  He held onto her tightly as they rode closer to the source of the earthquakes.  Hikaru could see dimly a silhouette of a large ship hovering just outside the barely transparent magical barrier around Cephiro.

"I guess they are the people from Netami?" Hikaru asked.

"Just a group of them," Lantis told her.  "They have many more ships and I believe a really large one to use as a base."

*on the ship*

"General, we're detecting two people just outside the barrier.  It looks like one is the man we've fought before, but there's only a young girl with him this time."

The general looked ahead upon hearing the statement made by his inferior.  There was indeed, two individuals right directly in front of them.  

"Men, get yourselves ready to capture them.  We're going to power up for a much stronger attack that will temporarily break through the barrier and catch those two off guard.  I want you to quickly immobilize them and bring them here.  Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," they replied and quickly went off to prepare their weapons.

The general sighed as he looked out at the beautiful land of Cephiro.  _Maybe soon, we'll finally be able to take it for our own._

"Fire!" he commanded.

*back on the other side of the barrier*

Lantis and Hikaru suddenly saw a bright beam heading straight at the barrier, but didn't realize its true power.  

They were totally surprised as the attack actually broke through the barrier.  Lantis clutched Hikaru closer to him as he moved out of the way of the attack right into the hands of the two soldiers who were easily able to capture them.

***

End of Chapter 2

I hope everyone's beginning to like it!

By the way, I chose Netami for the country's name because it means jealousy I think.


	3. Escape

**The Love of the Magic Knights**

**Chapter 3: Escape**

Everyone in the castle woke suddenly as the second attack that penetrated the barrier caused a severe earthquake.  

Umi and Fuu shot up in bed and looked at each other and then looked down.  Their eyes widened when they realized Hikaru wasn't there.

As Clef regained his balance, he suddenly realized that the barrier had finally been broken.  He quickly decided to gather everyone together and hold a meeting to decide what to do.  

Everyone quickly met up in the room they had all been in the night before.  Even Eagle had managed to come with the help of Geo and Zazu.  Umi and Fuu looked worriedly around the room, but still could not locate Hikaru.  

"Where is Hikaru?" Eagle asked.  

"We don't know," Umi replied.  "When we woke up, she wasn't there. Has anyone seen Hikaru?" she called out.  No one had.

"Lantis isn't here either," Eagle noticed.  _I hope they're together._

Clef looked up worriedly.  "I called you all here to tell you that those from Netami have broken through the barrier."  Everyone grew silent.  "They haven't entered Cephiro, and I've managed to fix the barrier already, but now we know they can break through.  We need to decide what to do, but I think it would be better if Hikaru and Lantis were here as well.  We need to find them."

With that everyone dispersed to begin looking for the two missing people.  Everyone grew more and more worried as time passed and they couldn't find them anywhere.  Clef called out some of his magical beasts to search all over Cephiro, but still there was no sign of them.  

*in the ship*

"Hikaru! Hikaru!" 

She slowly opened her eyes to see Lantis looking down at her.  She blushed as she suddenly realized he was holding her.  

"Where are we?" she asked looking around. 

"I think we're in some kind of cell in that ship that attacked us," Lantis replied.  _This is not good…not good at all._

"What are we going to do?" she asked.  He was about to reply when the door suddenly opened and two soldiers of Netami looked in at them to find them awake. 

"Go tell the General they've awakened," one of them said to the other.  With that, they quickly shut the door.

"Well, that was interesting," Lantis muttered.  

"Do you think they know who we are?" Hikaru asked him.

"I don't know.  They might know me…or at least, I know they've at least seen me before. But I don't know what they think about you," he replied.  He looked at her.  "It might be better if they don't find out who you are though."

They grew quiet.  "We have to get out of here," Hikaru mumbled.

The door suddenly burst open once more.  Hikaru and Lantis looked up to see another man staring at them.  

"Who are you?" Lantis asked him.

"I am the general in chief of the remaining people from Netami.  My name is Konran," he replied.  "What are your names?"

Hikaru and Lantis looked at each other.  "Answer, or we will kill one of you."

Lantis sighed. "I am Lantis."

"My name is Hikaru." 

"What are your positions on Cephiro?" Konran demanded.

"I am a member of the private guard," Lantis told him.  "She is being trained to enter the guard," he lied, glancing over at Hikaru.  

"Why are you doing this?" Hikaru asked.  "Why can't you just…"

"Be quiet!" Konran ordered.  He looked at them both one last time before turning and heading out the door.

Hikaru sighed.  Lantis looked worriedly at her.  They needed to get out of there.

*back in Cephiro*

"Has anyone found them yet?" Presea asked as they all returned to the meeting room.  

"No, I don't think so," Clef replied.  Umi, Fuu, and the others became even more worried. 

Suddenly Geo burst into the room.

"I went back to our ship to go get some supplies.  There was a message waiting for us from the ones attacking from Netami."

Everyone looked up in shock.

"Wait did they say?" Ferio asked.

"They said that they had captured Hikaru and Lantis this morning and that they will kill them both if we don't surrender Cephiro to them," Geo said.  Gasps could be heard around the room.  

"Oh no…" Fuu said.  

"They said they would give us till tomorrow at noon to decide and reply.  If we don't, then they'll be killed."

Everyone grew silent.  

*Eagle*_ I can't believe this is happening.  The two people I care more about than anything…why them?_

"What can we do?" Umi asked desperately.  

"Sorry, but it kind of strikes me as being kind of strange that those two could have been caught so easily," Caldina mentioned.  

"They must have been surprised when they actually broke through the barrier.  They probably didn't have much time to react," Clef said.  

"We have to help them!" Umi said.

"Yes…I know," Clef said.  "But if we attack them or try anything, we might be risking their lives.  I think we should just think it over and meet early tomorrow to decide what we can do.  We're just going to have to wait till the last minute and hope that Lantis and Hikaru can somehow help themselves."  
  


"But…" Fuu began.

"I know it seems harsh, but there is nothing else we can do," Clef said sadly.  He sighed heavily.  _Why did this have to happen.  Now everything is so much more difficult.  Hikaru…she never seems to get a break.  I hope she and Lantis are together._

*back on Netami's ship*

Lantis looked over at Hikaru.  She was sitting with her knees clutched close to her, her head resting hopelessly on them.  He frowned.  _I hate this._

His eyes suddenly brightened with hope.  He stood up and summoned his sword from a new gem on his hand. 

"Lightning Attack!"  A burst of energy suddenly struck the walls around them.  They shook severely, but didn't fall.  

"Well, that didn't work," he said, looking downcast.  He quickly drew his sword back into the gem as he heard heavy footsteps running toward them.

The general threw open the door and stared at them.  He looked toward Lantis as he realized he had been the source of the blast and smiled triumphantly.  

"I was expecting that you might have a little power, so we put you into this chamber that can contain magic like yours.  You have to be much stronger than that to break out of here," he told them.  Lantis glared at him, which made General Konran's smile grow even larger.  "You know, we just sent a message to your people saying that if they don't surrender Cephiro, we're going to kill you two," he said before leaving once more, slamming and locking the door behind him.  

  
Hikaru gasped as she heard what his plans were.  _No…this can't be happening.  They can't give up because of us.  Silent tears began falling down her cheeks.  _

Lantis stood shocked at the news. _If we can't get out of here somehow, I don't know what's going to happen.  He looked over at Hikaru.  His heart tightened as he saw her crying.  His own eyes watered.  _

*hikaru* _We__ have to escape.  I don't want anyone to be sad.  It would be horrible if Cephiro were lost. And Eagle would cry if Lantis…wait…that general said he had to be stronger.  The walls shook really hard when he attacked…it almost seemed they would collapse if he only had a little more power.  If we attack together…we have to try it._

She suddenly stood and looked at Lantis.  

"Let's attack together," she suggested.  His eyes widened.  _Would it work? He smiled at her.  __When I'm with her, I feel as if everything will turn out okay.  Her eyes…they're so determined…_

He again summoned his sword.  "Are you ready?" he asked.  She nodded. 

"Lightning attack!" he yelled.  "Red Lightning!" she called out at the same time.

With their powers combined, it didn't take long before the walls began to crack and finally collapse.  Hikaru's eyes brightened as she realized it had worked.  And she smiled as she realized the cell had been against an outside wall of the ship.  They were free!  

"Hurry!" Lantis yelled, offering her his hand, and leading them out of the ship. 

"Spirit Animal Summoning!" he called out and quickly his magical horse reappeared. 

"Where are we?" Hikaru asked.  "I mean, I know we're out of the ship and all, but…"  
  


"We're in the road they've built.  It should reach Cephiro's barrier."

They could hear angry and frantic voices behind them.  

"Can we be in their road?" Hikaru asked confused.  "I remember how hard it was to enter Autozam's road, and I was in Rayearth then."

Small beams of energy began shooting by them.  "They're attacking," Lantis said, pulling Hikaru closer to him.  Despite the situation, Hikaru found herself blushing. But the energy beams kept growing in number until finally one hit Lantis's horse, flinging them out of control and out of the road.  

***

End of Chapter 3

I chose Konran for the general's name because it means confusion.

Please Review!!!  Thanks!!!


	4. Final Battle

**The Love of the Magic Knights**

Disclaimer from chapter 1 applies to all chapters.  But I also want to add that all magical attacks are copyright of Clamp.  They were not made by me.

**Chapter 4: Final ****Battle******

"Where are we?" Hikaru asked, wincing as she tried to get up.  The shock from the fall had finally worn off, but now her entire body felt sore.  They had landed in some kind of field.  The sky was kind of grey and she could see what looked like a small city in the distance.

Lantis was looking also looking all around him.  "Are you okay, Hikaru?" 

"I guess so…what about you?  Are you hurt?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he said. He turned to her smiling.  "Do you realize where we are?"

She sweatdropped.  _Didn't I just ask him?_

"We're in Autozam."  She looked up at him shocked.  Then she looked around again. 

"Are you serious?" she asked.  

"We must have fallen out of the road right above Autozam.  I didn't even look down when we were trying to get away." He laughed.  Hikaru smiled.  _I've never heard him laugh before.  It's nice.  "The people here will surely help us get back to Cephiro," he continued.  "Come on…" he said as he got up, brushing the dirt off of him.  _

Hikaru also tried to get up, but fell back.  

Lantis looked at her worried.  "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Umm…nothing…" she said.  She tried to get up again.  He noticed her avoid putting pressure on one of her feet.

"You're hurt…" he said.  He walked over to her and gently scooped her up into his arms.  Her eyes widened in surprise.  "You don't have to…"

"It's okay."  Hikaru blushed.  _Why can't I shake this feeling I have for him? This feeling…what is it? And why in the heck do I blush everytime I'm with him?_

His voice suddenly broke her out of her thoughts.  "Fuu will be able to heal you when we get back."  

*hikaru* _He has such a beautiful voice…_

*early next morning*

"It'll be okay," Ferio said, putting his arms gently around Fuu.  "Hikaru's always been fine before.  She'll make it this time too." Fuu leaned against his shoulder.  

"I'm just so worried…" she said.  

Suddenly Ascot and Umi walked in.  Umi had apparently been crying.  

Ascot kept glancing at her worriedly.  "Don't worry," he said.  "Hikaru will be fine."

"And remember Lantis is with her," Eagle said as he walked in and joined them.  "He will certainly take care of her."

The ground suddenly shook as another series of attacks on the barrier began. 

"Why are they attacking now?" asked Presea as she and Clef entered the room. 

Fuu looked up, fear in her eyes.  "I thought they were going to give us till noon!"

Her eyes began to water.  

"Hikaru…" Umi mumbled. 

Lafarga and Caldina then entered the room.  "What's going on?" Caldina asked.

"We don't know," Ferio answered.

"I just looked out a minute ago," Lafarga announced.  "It looks like their entire fleet is out there."

"What!?" Clef exclaimed surprised.  

"Do you think they've changed their minds?" Presea asked.

"I really don't understand," Clef admitted.  "Eagle, do you think you could send them a message asking about this from your ship?"

"I can try…"  
  
He turned to leave but suddenly stopped in surprise when he saw Lantis carrying Hikaru walking toward him. 

"Hikaru! Lantis!" he called out, hurrying toward them.

As they entered the room, sighs of relief could be heard from everyone in the room.  

"You scared the crap out of me!" Umi yelled, looking over Hikaru.

"You're hurt…" Fuu said worriedly.  "Healing Wind!" she called out.  A magical wind wrapped around Hikaru's ankle, quickly and painlessly healing it.  Hikaru looked shyly up at Lantis who gently put her down. 

"Thank you Fuu," Hikaru said.

"Puu!" 

"Hi Mokono!" Hikaru said as the little creature suddenly jumped and sat on her head.

Hikaru sweatdropped.

"That thing was more worried than we were," Presea said.

"What happened?" Umi asked.

"We escaped!" Hikaru exclaimed happily.  

"I see…so that's why they're attacking now," Clef realized.  "Now that they've lost Hikaru and Lantis, they have no choice but to fight all out."

Suddenly there was a loud noise and the ground again shook.

"I think they just destroyed the barrier," Clef told them.

"We should go meet them," Lantis suggested.  

Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu glanced at each other.  It was time.

"Seles!"

"Windam!"

"Rayearth!"

The three legendary mashin appeared before them.  The others just watched in awe.

"Legendary Magic Knights," they began.  "We are ready for you to don us once more."

With that, the three girls magically were pulled into the three mashin that immediately took them out to face the invaders from Netami.

The others also went out to confront the attackers.

*on central Netami ship*

"Sir, look, I think they are the legendary Magic Knights of Cephiro," a soldier said addressing General Konran.  He looked out to see three massive objects before him.  

"So they are the legendary mashin."

"All forces, commence attack!"

All the ships immediately began opening fire on the knights and the others of Cephiro.  

Geo and Zazu under the leadership of Eagle once more, set out with the advanced Autozam ship and proceeded to return fire while the others used their own magic and skills to fight the invaders off.  

The knights carefully avoided being hit while also carefully trying to take down the enemy ships without totally destroying them and without hurting an unnecessary amount of people.    

It was soon obvious that the people of Netami were at a disadvantage and their forces slowly dwindled until finally only the main, large, central ship was left.  

"Please, stop this!" Clef yelled out.  "We don't want to hurt any of you."

"Prepare my GTO," General Konran demanded.  His assistants hurried away to do as ordered.

 (A GTO is a big robot thing that looks kind of like the knights' mashin. Geo has one too in the manga)

"We will not lose," Konran said determinedly through a speaker so that the knights and the others of Cephiro could hear him.  "We are fighting for the future of our people.  We will not give up."

"You're GTO is ready for launch, sir."  Konran immediately set off to get into it and launched quickly, coming face to face with the three legendary mashin.  In his GTO, he could now assess who was piloting them.  As he focused on the magic knights, his eyes widened when he saw the knights were only a group of young girls, and he was even more surprised when he focused on the Rayearth and saw Hikaru inside.

"You!" he yelled.  "You lied to me! No wonder you were able to escape the cell."

"Please, stop this," Hikaru said.  "This is totally unnecessary.  You have already been welcomed here if you could only live with the others on Cephiro."

"That is not our goal," Konran replied.  "We want to live as before, as on Netami."  
  


"Why do you feel that you have to live all on your own?" Fuu asked.  "Why can't you accept everyone here?"

"What do you have against us?" Umi yelled.

"You don't understand," Konran replied harshly.  "The people here are happy.  They have no idea what it's like to face such a disaster as the one we were forced to endure."

He suddenly rushed at Hikaru, his sword drawn, and attacked her with all his might.  "You have no idea how we feel!"  

"Hikaru!" Umi and Fuu yelled out, as his sword penetrated the side of her mashin.  

She quickly drew back as she felt a sharp pain in her side.  "He's much stronger than I thought," she told the others.

"How can his robot be so strong?" Umi asked surprised.  

"I've poured all my knowledge and energy into this machine," Konran replied, "just in case one day I had to defend my people.  And even though I never thought that I would have to fight the legendary mashin, it seems I am quite prepared to do so."

He suddenly drew out another weapon looking like a gun and began shooting energy beams at them.  "Even if we don't have any magic, we have the technology to defeat you!"

The girls could do nothing but dodge as he continued his relentless attacks.  The others were busy facing off a few remaining forces, so could not help them. 

Lantis looked up and watched the magic knights fighting against Netami's general.  His gaze focused on Rayearth and the girl he knew was inside, fighting again for their sake.  

His eyes widened as he saw one of the energy beams hit one of Rayearth's arms.  _I hope she'll be okay.  Suddenly he sensed another soldier rushing at him and turned and began fighting again.  __I wish these idiots would stop so I could help her.  If she gets hurt…_

"We can't even get close with him shooting at us like this," Fuu said. 

"And we can't even get enough of a break to use our magic," Umi added frustrated.  

"Let's split up and surround him so that it'll be harder for him to make continuous attacks like he's doing.  Then maybe one of us can attack," Hikaru suggested.

"Okay."

They immediately separated and flew to different sides of the general.  He kept shooting, but Hikaru was right.  Umi finally found a time to attack.  "Water Dragon!"

The attack barely missed as he quickly moved out of the way.  "He's too fast!" Umi yelled as the three girls moved in closer together once more.

The general laughed and continued shooting more beams at them.  He finally made his second hit as one of the beams hit Umi's mashin.

"Umi! Are you okay?" Hikaru asked.  Her own arm was throbbing from the hit she received earlier by one of the beams.

"I'm fine…" Umi replied.  

"I think I can protect both of you while you try to attack again," Fuu said.

"Let's try," Hikaru said.

"Guardian Wind!" Fuu called out and immediately a barrier formed in front of the girls, shielding them from Konran's attacks.

"Fire Arrow!"

"Blue Waterspout!"

Their attacks rushed at the surprised general and finally hit their target. 

He fell back, breathing hard, but as the girls looked, his GTO had barely received any damage. 

"What kind of machine is that!?" Umi yelled.  "This is crazy!"

The general laughed as he regained his composure.  "It'll take more than that."

Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu stared at the general.  All the others had looked up when the girls attacked and were also dumbfounded at the little it did.

*Eagle* _I didn't realize their technology had advanced so much.  We have to hurry and defeat the remaining troops so we can help them.  There's not that many more left…_

*Lantis* _Whoa…I didn't think he could defend himself that well.  They need our help…just hold on a little longer…Hikaru…_

The general began shooting more energy beams at the three knights.  The girls could only dodge, becoming more frustrated with each shot fired at them.

"Legendary Magic Knights, you must fight together to save Cephiro." The three girls stopped as they heard the voices of their mashin.  "You have the strength required to defeat him.  Remember how you've defeated your enemies before.  Do not lose heart."

The three girls nodded as images of their previous battles rushed through their minds.  Their minds were in unison as they gathered together and faced the general.  

_We're fighting for the peace of Cephiro._

_We're even fighting for the survivors of Netami who have suffered so much._

_We're fighting for those we love._

_We can't lose._

_We must win for the sake of our friends and ourselves._

With these thoughts running through their minds, the knights gathered their strength and…

"LIGHT SPIRAL!!"

***

End of Chapter 4

Sorry, I know it's a weird place to end a chapter.

Anyway, the mashin are the rune-gods/spirits of the magic knights just in case you didn't know.

Please review!!


	5. A New Understanding

**The Love of the Magic Knights**

**Chapter 5: A New Understanding**

The general had no time to react as the enormous surge of energy in the form of a glowing bright light, hit his GTO full force, completing tearing it apart and sending him flying through the air.

All the others had stopped their fight as this final attack was sent, staring amazed at the scene above them.  

The general finally landed flat on his back not too far away, seriously injured.  He was stunned.  _Where did they get so much power?  __Cephiro's__ legendary magic knights…so I really wasn't a match for them after all.  _

The girls quickly landed near the broken general and withdrew from their mashin.  Hikaru rushed over to him.  "He's still alive!" she said relieved.  She really had not wanted to hurt him but they had had no choice.  

"Hey…are you okay?" Hikaru asked him gently.  The general slowly turned his head to look at her, flinching as a sharp pain crossed the back of his head.

All the others from Netami had stopped fighting, confused as to what to do.  They slowly made their way over to their general, the others of Cephiro following.

"I'm sorry," Hikaru said, her eyes watering as she witnessed the pain she had caused him.  

"Why are you apologizing?" General Konran asked, surprised at seeing tears in the young girl's eyes.  

"We didn't want to hurt you," Hikaru told him.  "We didn't even want to fight you."

"I didn't give you much of a choice," the general said.  _Why is this girl being so kind?  I just attacked her…I hurt her…yet, she's apologizing…to me?_

"We just couldn't understand why you wanted to live here all on your own," Fuu said.

"The people here are very friendly.  They would have loved to welcome you here."

"Please help us understand," Hikaru pleaded.  "We want to help you and your people."

The general sighed.  "The people of Netami have always prided themselves in being independent – doing everything on their own and receiving no help from outsiders.  Everyone their, including all of us, have been brought up to think that this is the best way to live, never depending on anyone.  When we were hit by that crazy storm and our country was destroyed, all of us who survived were determined to start over all on our own." 

The knights and all the others listened intently as he continued.

"We had heard about Cephiro a long time ago, about how beautiful it was.  About the problems concerning your pillar and how one of the legendary magic knights became the new pillar but then dissolved the pillar system so their sad history wouldn't be repeated.  And since then, we've only heard wonderful things about how peaceful it had become.  When we realized we needed to find a place to start over, Cephiro seemed perfect in our eyes.  But we didn't want the charity of the people living here; we wanted to maintain our pride in our independent ways.  So we decided to take over it, and make it our new home, a new Netami.  We were determined to do so."

"And the people here…?" Clef prompted.

The general looked away.  "We decided we would force the people here who wouldn't conform to our authority and our way of life out of Cephiro once we had conquered it.  We weren't exactly worried about the people here though.  They've had a happy life here.  They would most likely do fine somewhere else."

They all looked up at him surprised he could say such a thing.

"But this is our home," Ferio said.  "We've been through our own problems with the pillar system here.  But we pulled through together and fell even more attached to this place.  If we were forced to leave, it would be hard for us to be happy.  It would be like we were leaving our lives behind us." He looked at Fuu. "It would be hard for us leaving our memories behind.  And you, of all people, should realize that after what you and your people have been through.  Just because you have suffered in that way, doesn't mean everyone should."

"I know…" the general said.  "But I think we were a little jealous of this place and the people here."

"We would still like to welcome your people here," Clef told him.  The general looked up surprised.

"Maybe you won't be as independent as you were, but that's really not that horrible," Hikaru said smiling.  "I realize that's what you were brought up to think, but helping others and receiving help from them is a wonderful experience."  The general looked at her.  "Umi, Fuu, and I would never have been able to become the magic knights if we hadn't had people here to help us," she said looking around at all her friends surrounding her, her gaze lingering on Lantis.  She blushed and hurriedly looked back at General Konran.  "And you could even teach us a little bit about the technology you seem to know so much about if you want."  

"That's right, I think your people have suffered enough," Presea said gently.  "I think it would be nice for all of you, if you joined us here in peace."

The general looked down, then back up at the others from Netami that had fought with them.  _Were we wrong in thinking that the only true way to live is on our own?  These people are so happy and peaceful, maybe we can learn something from them.  He looked back up at the kind faces of the people of Cephiro and the magic knights.  __After all we've done to them, they are still generously welcoming us to be with them.  They are truly wonderful people.  I really think my people and I can benefit from them.  _

"Okay," Konran said.  "You've made me understand you people a lot better, and I can see now, that what we were trying to do was not for the best.  If the rest of my people want to, and if you still will allow us, we would truly appreciate coming to live among you peacefully."

Hikaru smiled and instantly gave him a hug.  The general's eyes widened.  _This girl…she truly is amazing._

Lantis looked on in amusement, a bright smile spreading slowly across his face.  _Hikaru__ is so forgiving and so kind…I truly do love her…_

"Fuu, could you heal everyone here?" Clef asked her.

"Of course," she said smiling.  "Healing Wind!"  All the people from Netami stared in awe as the gentle winds wrapped the wounded and completely healed all their injuries.  

"This really is amazing power you people have," Konran noticed.  

"I hope everyone's feeling a little better now," Clef said.  

"Let's go back to the castle to celebrate the arrival of our new friends," Ferio suggested.

Hikaru finally stood up from her position next to Konran on the ground, and immediately became dizzy and faint.  

Lantis quickly noticed and caught her before she fell.  "Are you okay?"

Umi and Fuu looked over at her worried.  "What's wrong?" Fuu asked.

By then everyone had noticed the commotion around Hikaru.  They all looked at her with worry written all over their faces. 

She blushed.  "Uh…I think I'm hungry…"  Everyone sweatdropped. 

***

End of chapter 5

Only one more chapter left!


	6. *Feelings Defined*

**The Love of the Magic Knights**

It's the final chapter!  Enjoy!

**Chapter 6:  Feelings Defined**

*later that night after a large feast*

"Well, it's getting late, and I'm sure everyone's tired after today's events, so we should all try and get some rest," Clef began.  "Fuu's magic might have healed your wounds, but it doesn't have any affect on fatigue."

"Thank you again for all your help," Konran said to them.  Everyone smiled.

"It's fine," Clef said.  "And don't forget tomorrow we'll show you around Cephiro some."

Konran smiled at him.  

"Umm…before everyone leaves," Lafarga began shyly, "we…uh…Caldina and I have an announcement to make."

Everyone looked at them expectantly.  Ever since the pillar system was destroyed, Lafarga and Caldina showed obvious signs that they had feelings for each other, and they've been getting closer every day.  

"We're going to get married!" Caldina blurted out excitedly.  Squeals of happiness could be heard around the room.  

Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu were the first to rush up and give the couple hugs of congratulations.

"When is the wedding going to be?" Umi asked.

"We can come right?" Hikaru asked hopefully.

Lafarga smiled.  "You had better be there."

"We haven't decided the exact date yet, though," Caldina told them.  "But hopefully it'll be soon," she said looking slyly at Lafarga.  He blushed.

"Well, anyway, I guess we should all be going.  I really am tired," Lafarga said. Caldina latched quickly onto his arm as they walked out of the room.  

Slowly everyone began drifting out of the room.  

"Hikaru?" Lantis called quietly.  She turned to look at him.  "Will you take a walk with me?" 

"Sure," she replied, and blushed.  _Why am I blushing again?_

They slowly walked out of the room together, and he led the way out of the castle and into the night air.  They walked in silence.

*lantis* _I want to let her know how I feel about her so much, but I really have no idea how she feels about me.  She seems to like everyone here just the same.  She's too innocent…I don't want to scare her away._

*hikaru* _I feel so comfortable and secure walking beside him.  It feels right somehow.  And this feeling…I can't make it go away.  But I don't even know if I want it to anymore.  It feels so strange but at the same time, it feels so nice…so perfect._

Lantis suddenly stopped.  "Hikaru?" She looked up at him.  He was looking straight down at her.  _His eyes are so serious, but there's something else there too… She blushed._

"Yes?"

He just kept staring into her eyes.  _She's so beautiful…_

"Did you want to say something?"

"Uh…"  _If I don't tell her now, I never will.  I don't want to lose her.  I have to try._

"Do you remember that time I asked you how you confess your love on the Earth?" he asked.

"Yes…I do…" she replied hesitantly.  _Why is he asking me this? Does he like someone?_

She looked down, feeling a little disappointed.  _Why am I feeling like this?  I should be happy if he's found someone to love…_

"Well, that's when I first realized how I felt about you."

Her head snapped up.  _What was he saying?_

"Hikaru…I love you," he told her looking straight into her eyes. 

   
Her eyes widened in shock.  _Love?__ He loves me? This can't be real._

He looked at her confused.  He could tell she was thinking about something, but couldn't figure out how she felt.

*hikaru* _That__ feeling that I've felt with him all this time…could it be love?  I don't know. I'm so confused.  _

"Hikaru?"

"Um…I…I'm sorry, but I have to go," she said, then turned and ran.

"Hikaru!" Lantis called out.  She kept running.  He started to run after her, but then stopped.  His heart tightened as he watched her go.  _So, I did end up scaring her away…Hikaru…who has never run from anything…ran away from me.  _

"Go after her."  Lantis looked up shocked to see Eagle walking toward him.

"Eagle?"

"Sorry, I was watching the whole thing," he admitted.  "I think you should go after her."

"Why? It's obvious she doesn't feel the same," he said, looking down sadly.

"You don't know that," Eagle told him.  

"What do you mean?  She ran away from me."  

"That doesn't mean anything," Eagle said.  Lantis looked up at him unbelievingly.  

"She ran away so she wouldn't have to say anything.  That can't be good." Lantis said.

"Maybe she just didn't know how she felt," Eagle said. "You might have just surprised her a little."

"Do you really think that?" Lantis asked.  

Eagle looked him straight in the eye.  "Yes, I do.  But the only way you can truly know anything, is if you go after her.  You deserve some kind of response.  Just don't rush her into saying anything."

Lantis sighed.  _Maybe he's right.  I need to know how she feels._

"Okay," he said.  "Thank you Eagle."  Lantis then ran toward the castle.

Eagle smiled.  _I hope everything works out for those two.  They certainly would make one interesting couple.  They seem to be walking in the previous pillar's and Zagato's footsteps.  Now the girl who could have been pillar but decided not to and Zagato's brother, the man who refused to allow the legend of the magic knights to be repeated by trying to destroy the road to become pillar, have a chance at love.  But this time, the love story may just end happily._

"Clef…" Lantis said as he ran into the castle and straight into the small mage.  "I thought you went to bed."

"I did, but then I sensed some movement in the road connected to the Earth," Clef said.  Lantis's eyes widened.  "I wanted to check to see if Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu were still here."  

Lantis sighed.  _When she runs, she certainly runs far.  _

Clef looked closely at Lantis. "You know what happened, don't you?"  Lantis looked away.  "I guess so…would you like to tell me?"

"Is there a way I can go to the earth?" Lantis asked.  Clef looked at him in surprise.  

"I think only those three girls can travel that road."

"Puu! Puu!" Lantis and Clef looked as Mokona suddenly entered the room.  They watched as the little creature came closer than jumped and started to hover in the air.  It opened its mouth wide to reveal what looked like a swirling dark vortex.  

"I think Mokono wants to send you to the Earth," Clef told him.  

"Are you sure?" Lantis asked, looking warily at Mokona.  He suddenly noticed he was slowly being drawn in to the vortex.  "I think I'm about to find out," Lantis said, just as he was sucked in. 

Clef just smiled.

*on the Earth*

The rain pounded down on Hikaru as she ran blindingly away from Tokyo Tower.  She finally came to a stop and sat on a bench under a tree in a local park.    

*hikaru* _I don't get it…this feeling I have for him.  'Love' he said.  What exactly is that?  I know I love my family and everyone on Cephiro, but this feeling I have for him is different.  I know there's more than one kind of love, but…  I'm so confused.  I don't understand at all how I feel.  All I can think of are the girls at school who always talk about their boyfriends and how much they love them.  But then they turn around the next day and say they love someone else.  I know the way I feel for Lantis is different than that.  But exactly how I feel…I don't know._

She looked up at the dark night sky, rain still falling but more gently than before.  She sighed.  A vision of Lantis entered her mind... "I love you," he had said.  _He must have felt bad when I ran away…I hope he doesn't think I hate him.  I don't.  I like being near him…and when he laughed, it made me so happy.  I felt so safe around him, kind of like I belonged with him…_

She suddenly sat up, her eyes wide.  _Was that love? The kind of love he was talking about? She sighed and leaned back on the bench, closing her eyes.  _

***

"There she is," Lantis whispered to himself, relieved, as he saw Hikaru sitting on a bench not too far ahead of him.  _She looks almost pathetic sitting alone there in the rain.  I'm glad I found her._

A shadow suddenly loomed over Hikaru.  She slowly opened her eyes to see Lantis standing before her, completely soaked.  Her eyes widened in shock.  _How did he…_

"Can I sit here?" he asked, motioning to the empty space beside her.  

"Of…course," she said.  He sat.  

*lantis* _What__ should I say?_

*hikaru* _Well…this is kind of weird…but kind of nice.  But how did he get here?_

He sighed and looked at her.  "I'm sorry."

She looked up at him surprised.  "Why are you sorry?"

"I…shouldn't have said anything…" he muttered.

She looked down.  "No…it's okay.  I'm the one who should be sorry…for just running away like that."

"But if I hadn't have said anything, you wouldn't have run away," he told her.

"But I'm glad you told me…" Hikaru said, not realizing what she was saying until after it had slipped out of her mouth.  

He looked at her surprised.  

*hikaru* _Why did I say that?  Am I glad that he told me? Maybe…_

"I…I was just confused so I ran away," Hikaru mumbled. 

Lantis's eyes brightened a little.  _Maybe Eagle was right.  But I still don't know how she feels._

Hikaru sighed.  "Did you really mean what you said?" she asked, looking up into his eyes.  She couldn't help but blush.  _They're so beautiful…_

"Yeah, I did…" he said.

"Do you regret telling me?"

Lantis's eyes widened as he looked at her looking at him so deeply.  "I don't really know.  I think I did, but right now I don't."  She finally looked away.  "Even if you don't feel the same toward me, I'm glad that you at least know how I feel."

"But I…don't really know how I feel," Hikaru admitted.  Lantis looked softly at her, not knowing what to say.  

"It's okay, just take your time to sort out your feelings.  That's fine." Lantis said.

*hikaru* _He's being so gentle…so kind.  It's as if he doen't want to scare me away again or something.  And right now…I'm feeling the farthest I can be from scared.  _

*lantis* _She's so innocent. I wonder if she's ever felt this kind of love before._

"What is love to you?" Hikaru asked quietly.

He was silent for a moment.  "To me, it's when I feel good around someone.  It's when I want to be with them always, to protect them, to comfort them, to make them happy."

"But don't you feel like that toward all your friends?"

"Yes, I love all my friends," he replied.

"But what's the difference between that kind of love, and the kind of love you…uh…feel for…well...me?" Hikaru asked hesitantly.

Lantis smiled.  "With you, all of those things that I've already said I feel more deeply.  And of course, there is a strong physical attraction…" he said.  A deep blush began traveling across his face.  Hikaru blushed too.  

"With you, I want to do all those things…protect you, comfort you, make you happy, but I want to do them…holding you.  I feel like I somehow belong with you that way."

Hikaru froze.  _Belong with me? That's just what I thought earlier…like I belonged with him.  And I do want to be with him…It feels so nice when he's near.  And every time he touches me…it feels so nice…so right…is this really love?_

"It's been a long time since I've seen rain," Lantis muttered, looking up at the sky.  

*hikaru* _He looks so good now in the rain…_

"It's starting to rain harder," Lantis noticed.  He looked over at Hikaru.  "Isn't there a place where we can get out of the rain?"

But she wasn't listening.  _This feeling that I've had for so long…it really must be love.___

"Uh…Hikaru?"

"I want to hold you too."

Lantis looked at her surprised.  "What?"

"I want to hold you too," she repeated, with even more feeling.  "I finally understand."

She turned to him.  "I've had this strange feeling for you for so long, but I never really knew what it was…I've never felt anything like it before.  I know I loved everyone, and so I never really thought that the different feeling I felt for you was love.  But more and more recently, every time I've been with you, I've felt comfortable and safe.  I wanted to be with you so much.  I think that was partly why I was so excited about visiting again even though I really couldn't accept how I felt.  

He could barely believe his ears as he listened to her. 

"But now, you've helped me understand.  Lantis…I love you…I really do."

"Hikaru…" he said as he gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him.  

He gently tilted her head up, and their lips met, shyly at first, then with increasing feeling.  

It was a few moments before they finally broke their kiss.  They stared happily into each other's eyes.

"I think it's time to go back…" Hikaru mumbled, as she placed her head on his shoulder, her arms still tightly surrounding him.

"Yeah…" he said, but neither of them moved.

"You know, we're certainly making a lot of people happy in Cephiro. I think a lot of them were waiting for this to happen for a while now," Lantis said.

Hikaru smiled.  "I'm glad."

"And now that I finally have you, I'm never going to let you go, you know," Lantis mumbled in her ear.  

"Do you promise?" Hikaru asked.

"I promise.  I will never let you go."

Hikaru smiled.

_Good._

**Owari**** (The End)**

Well, I hoped you liked the story. It was my first Rayearth fan-fiction. I did write a Card Captor Sakura fiction called Sakura and Syaoran's Love. You might like if you liked this one. 

Anyway please read and review!!! I would really appreciate it!! 

Thanks for reading!

-arashi099


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